***Grey Eyes, Grey Lynn is a record that could only come from inner-city Auckland and is an open window into Jim Nothing's world. Created during a time of isolation, Jim reflects on his immediate surroundings, finding beauty in the ordinary and noting the eccentricities of everyday life. Jim Nothing's songwriting has matured, showing a refined narrative which pulls from lived experience. Themes and scenes of local pubs, open roads, psychedelic summers and deep melancholia. This is antipodean life at the edge of the world. Written on walks through the neighborhood with a notebook and pen. Recorded between The Audio Foundation and Jim's own garage. The amalgamation of spaces further blurs the line between a “demo” and a final recording, as buried within the songs are the initial moments of weird magic and intimacy. This new album retains the crystalline nature of early recordings, offering a feel very much immediate and genuine. Sonic experimentation of acoustic instruments, layered guitar drone and catchy pop hooks create a palette both heady and new. Influences from New Zealand's past can undoubtedly be heard (The Clean, Snapper, LBGP) but the world contained within Grey Eyes, Grey Lynn is a world of Jim's. Both a slice of life and a moment in time.
LP $20.25
11/08/2024
***Christchurch/Auckland DIYers JIM NOTHING are back with their debut album In The Marigolds. The sound of the album has strong roots in the classic '80s and '90s indie rock of the land it was born in, but other influences can be heard—especially the likes of The Go-Betweens, Breeders and Guided by Voices. It’s a varied, but cohesive album that brims with pleasantly scuffed, quietly considered charm: slightly-delic, all-out-rockers, reflective numbers and quirky perspectives, pitting JAMES SULLIVAN's salty vocals and jangling guitar against ANITA CLARK's candied vocals and violin. But also this album has at its core a feeling of homeliness, an understated dedication to DIY music making and the kiwi tradition of tinkering away in the garage. Songs nod openly to the South Island sounds-of-yesteryear without feeling hamstrung by nostalgic whiff. Rather Jim Nothing implement the rickety gallop of The Bats (Seahorse Kingdom) or chug-a-chug moves of 3D's (Yellow House) as a bed to bud their own groggy-headed guitar-steez. "Never Come Down" sports the kind of spring-loaded chorus Tamaki Makaurau futurist P.H.F. might mess around with, while "Borrowed Time" pits power-pop urgency against the easy thrum of Melted Ice Cream alumni, Salad Boys. Released by Spain's Meritorio and pressed on white vinyl.
LP $19.95
10/21/2022